Since the beginning of election silence in Poland—starting at midnight from Friday to Saturday—the police have recorded 122 cases of its violation, including those committed by politicians from the Civic Coalition (KO): Arkadiusz Myrcha, Deputy Minister of Justice, and Piotr Głowski. Among the reported cases, two are classified as criminal offenses.
Election silence began at midnight on Friday and will last until Sunday at 9 PM, when voting ends. During this period, publishing polls and campaigning for candidates is prohibited.
“From the start of election silence until 6 AM on Sunday, 122 cases of violating election silence were recorded,” said Insp. Katarzyna Nowak, spokeswoman for the National Police Headquarters.
On Saturday, in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, an election poster was torn down in Kielce’s Ślichowice district, and two others were hung in its place. “We are conducting an investigation,” said Staff Sgt. Artur Majchrzak from the Kielce Police Headquarters.
Similarly, Lublin police received a report on Saturday about the removal of an election poster belonging to one of the candidates in the Tomaszów district.
Meanwhile, Białystok police are investigating a case of election silence violation involving the display of campaign materials. Tomasz Krupa, spokesman for the Podlaskie police, reported that a woman notified authorities after seeing a man carrying a flag with the name of an electoral committee in the city center. Police are proceeding under Article 498 of the Electoral Code, which prohibits political agitation during election silence—punishable by a fine.
KO MPs Broke Election Silence
Among Saturday’s violations, two were committed by MPs.
In the morning, Arkadiusz Myrcha, Deputy Minister of Justice, posted a graphic on Facebook encouraging votes for his preferred candidate, writing: “We vote on Sunday!” He later apologized on X, stating: “I’m sorry, due to a loading error, the graphics appeared after midnight. I’ve already removed them.”
MP Piotr Głowski (KO) also published an election-related post on Saturday morning. He explained on X that he had scheduled the post for Friday evening but it was published Saturday due to a delay, adding: “To avoid misinterpretation, I’m deleting the post.”
What Constitutes a Violation?
Election silence bans any form of active campaigning, including public appeals to vote in a certain way. During this period, organizing rallies, marches, speeches, or distributing campaign materials is prohibited. However, encouraging voter turnout is allowed unless it promotes a specific candidate.
Posters hung before election silence may remain, but vehicles covered in campaign ads cannot be driven (though they can remain parked). Online campaigning is also banned.
Additionally, displaying symbols, images, or slogans associated with candidates near polling stations is prohibited.
Publishing election polls during this period is illegal, with fines ranging from 500,000 to 1 million PLN.
The National Electoral Commission (PKW) emphasizes that only law enforcement and courts can determine if a violation occurred. Voters who witness breaches should report them directly to the police.